SPD drug take back day Saturday

Officers will be on hand in the lobby of SPD collecting expired or unused prescription drugs and over the counter medication from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday.

Leigh Kreimeierlkreimeier@stuttgartdailyleader.com

The Stuttgart Police Department will be participating in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Officers will be on hand in the lobby of SPD collecting expired or unused prescription drugs and over the counter medication from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday.

This is the first year for the department to particpate in the program, SPD Lt. Landers Austin said.

This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.

In the five previous Take-Back events, the DEA in conjunction with state, local and tribal law enforcement partners have collected more than 2 million pounds (1,018 tons) of prescription medications.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposal, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of these medications.

Bring your medications for disposal to SPD, located at the intersection of Sixth and Main streets, Austin said. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last September, Americans turned in 244 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,200 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.